Total Drama Level Up
by StayOuttaMyShed
Summary: Chris returns to the set of Total Drama Action, putting 33 new teens through a season themed after different video game genres.
1. Level Select

**Chapters:**

**Level Select:** Table of Contents

**Level 1:** Game On (Arcades)

**Level 2: **Super Morella Bros (Platformers)

**Cast List:**

**Boys:  
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John (The Otaku) by mellra

Aden (The Light Engineer) by Novanto

Caleb (The Friendly Homeschooler) by CrashDog55

Nathan (The Nervous Guy) by Pokerox27

Lance (The Thief) by Karts of Sugar Rush

Liam (The Klutz) by Curcle

Lukas (The Lone Biker) by SilverSerpent12

Ryan (The Exhibitionist) by Wakko's minion

Kyle (The Spoiled Brat) by mitchi . hess

Kusa (The Martial Artist) by sithlorde1988

Jacque (The Con Artist) by Mr. Nattown

Rowley (The Prankster) by lemix323

Garrett (The Tough Guy) by Linkonpark100

Billy (The Baseball Fanatic) by TDguy

Trevor (The Nice Sociopath) by Trevo

Lincoln (The Class Clown) by Guest

Zane (The Strategist) by Knifez

**Girls:  
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Xilier (The Tattoo Artist) by Saturn22

Iris (The Jitterbug) by Ms. Ringo Starr

Lee Lee (The Survivalist) by Cole D. soul

Clara (The Wannabe Bride) by TigerMasters

Alice (The Goth) by EvilAngel666

Morella (The Jellyfish) by frizzle1872

Ellie (The Pushover) by Rkidd1112

Andrea (The Pure One) by Matalo

Lexi (The Thug) by CrossoverFan

Annara (The Animal Lover) by Pecan Crisp

Taylor (The Moodswinger) by Total Drama Queen Fortress

Rowan (The Privileged) by TheGamesICause

Riley (The Gamer Girl) by Sky Harrison

Mandy (The Vampire Hunter) by ewisko

Deborah (The Workaholic) by NerdyNightStocker

Piper (The Overachiever) by Cameron Adams


	2. Level 1: Game On

"Last season on Total Drama: 14 new campers flocked to Pahkitew Island for one of the most explosive and unpredictable seasons yet! They laughed, they cried, they nearly blew up. In the end, zombie conspiracy theorist Shawn triumphed over gymnast Sky with the help of his girlfriend, winning the couple one million big ones. This season, we're introducing yet another new cast, this one 33 teens big! We've returned to the abandoned film lot from season two, but this time instead of tackling movie genre themed challenges, the contestants will be facing challenges based on video game genres! With a new theme and such a big cast, it's sure to be an action packed season full of fun, pain, and LOTS of drama. Tune in and watch it all unfold, right here on TOTAL... DRAMA... LEVEL UP!"

*** Opening Credits ***

Chris stood outside the familiar entrance of the abandoned movie lot, a smile on his face as he eagerly awaited his newest victims. Soon, a large bus pulled up and 33 teens slowly filed out.

"Welcome everyone to the newest season of Total Drama," Chris exclaimed as everyone finished getting off the bus. "We've been waiting for you."

Chris chuckled as the bus skidded away. When it was gone, Chef drove up in a trolley. There were three tramcars to the trolley, each a different color. The front was red, the middle blue, and the back one yellow.

"You'll notice that the trolley has three colored sections to it," Chris pointed out. "This represents the three teams of 11 that we'll have this season. Our first order of business is dividing the lot of you into your teams. I'll call out your names and-"

The teens began loudly conversing with each other, annoying the host as he couldn't get a word in.

"Quiet down maggots!"

Everyone grew silent at Chef's voice, bringing a grin to Chris's face.

"Now that's more like it." Chris pulled out a piece of paper and cleared his throat. "When I call your name, go take a seat in your team's tramcar. We'll start with the red one. Liam!"

A tall, tanned teen with short blonde hair, wearing a white tank top and baggy black sweatpants stepped forward. He nearly tripped as he climbed into the trolley. He smiled awkwardly at the others as he sat in silence as the first one called out.

"Mandy!"

A girl with short black hair, a gray short sleeved shirt, tan pants and combat boots was the second name called. She eyed the others curiously as she made her way to the trolley and took a seat next to Liam.

"Next up is Kyle."

Many teens raised an eyebrow as a boy wearing a black tux with a red tie stepped forward. He wore tidy gray dress pants and black shoes, his blonde hair slicked back. He didn't so much as look at Liam and Mandy as he took his own seat in the trolley.

"Lee Lee!"

A tall and slender girl with a black ponytail was next. She wore a white tank top, black shorts and black boots. She reluctantly took a seat next to Kyle, scooting away as far as she could.

"Lukas!"

A brown skinned guy with short messy dreadlocks and tired grey eyes stepped forward. A golden anarchy symbol was on his black shirt and he also wore black pants and biker boots. As he plopped down into his seat, he looked back at his fellow teammates curiously. Liam put on a smile while Lee Lee raised an eyebrow at him.

"Zila... Xyla... how do I pronounce this one?" Chris asked.

"It's Xilier," a tall, skinny girl with long red hair replied. She wore a tie dye shirt, black and white pants, and medieval boots.

"Alright, Xilier, go pop a squat."

Xilier nodded and took her seat next to Lukas on the trolley.

"Next we have Lincoln."

A boy with messy brown hair, brown eyes, a black t-shirt, blue jeans and purple sneakers grinned and eagerly took his seat on the trolley. He looked back at his current teammates, still keeping his grin.

"Sup, guys?" Lincoln said. "It's a real pleasure to be on your team."

He stuck his hand out to Lukas, who eyed the hand curiously. Lukas spat in his own hand and used it to shake Lincoln's.

"Yeah, a real pleasure," Lukas replied.

Lincoln had a look of disgust as he pulled back his hand. He wiped his hand off on his pants as Chris continued.

"Alice!"

A pale girl with long raven hair stepped forward. She wore a white t-shirt that had a skull and crossbones on it, a black leather jacket, a black and gray plaid mini-skirt, black fingerless gloves, black knee-high boots, and a silver omega symbol necklace. She quietly took her seat next to Lincoln, who was still wiping off spit on his pants.

"The final guy of the team, Zane!"

A skinny boy with shaggy brown hair smirked. He was wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans. He took a seat on the tramcar, leaving only two empty seats.

"Next is Andrea."

A girl with short black hair wearing a black dress shirt and jeans stepped up. She wore a cross around her neck and had three X tattoos on each arm. She eyed everyone on the tramcar slowly before taking a seat next to Zane.

"And the final member of the team: Taylor!"

A pale girl with autumn hair and pink highlights smiled and stepped forward. A few tufts of hair and a ponytail poked out of her grey beanie. She had blue eyes, freckles, purple lipstick, a raggedy purple tank top, a black skirt, dark blue leggins, black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a choker. She took the final seat next to Andrea, filling up the first tramcar on the trolley.

"Alright guys, the 11 of you will from this point on be known as the Red Mushrooms!"

The team symbol of a red mushroom flashed on screen. Most of the team members cheered, although Lukas, Andrea, and Kyle stayed relatively quiet.

"Come on, dude, aren't you excited?" Xilier asked Lukas.

"Oh yeah, I'm pumped," he sarcastically replied.

"Alright guys, time to keep things rolling with the next team," Chris said. "If I call your name, sit in the blue tramcar. First up: Ryan!"

A bright smile came from a tall, muscular guy with spiky brown hair. He wore a tight sleeveless shirt and ripped jeans. He gladly took his seat on the trolley as the first member of the second team.

"Next up, Piper!"

A tan girl with long curly brown hair and caramel highlights stepped forward. She wore a light blue tee with a white 64 on the back, red shorts and red shoes. Ryan gave her a wink as she sat down next to him, making her roll her eyes.

"Trevor!"

A chuckle came from a short skinny guy with a short, slick dark brown pompadour and blue eyes. His attire was all black. Black shirt, black button-up jacket with a red T on the pocket, black pants, black shoes, and even black socks. Ryan and Piper both watched him curiously as he took a seat in front of him.

"Next is Rowan!"

The girl to step up was a tall, curvy blonde with long silky hair and violet eyes. She wore a gray tank top, blue skinny jeans, and black high tops. She gave her other teammates no attention as she sat next to Trevor with a bored look.

"Aden!"

A pale boy with brown hair and green eyes adjusted his glasses before making his way to the trolley. He had on a green shirt and blue jeans. He silently nodded at the others already on the tramcar before taking his seat.

"Lexi!"

A smirk came from a girl with short hot pink hair and piercings on her nose, bellybutton, and eyebrow. She had on a black leather vest over her white t-shirt, black jeans, black combat boots, and studded black wrist bands. She took a seat next to Aden and looked down at him with a smirk.

"Uh... hi," Aden nervously said.

"Hey yourself, short stuff," Lexi replied in a thick British accent. She grinned, revealing that she was missing a tooth.

"Next up: Rowley!"

A skinny guy with brown hair grinned and quickly made his way to the trolley. He wore a green t-shirt, blue shorts, and red shoes. He enthusiastically took a seat in front of Aden and Lexi as Chris continued.

"Riley!"

A fist pump came from a girl with straight light brown hair and blue eyes. She had on a green shirt with a Game Guy on the front, skinny jeans, a black beanie, black and lime glasses, and red high tops. She exchanged a high five with Rowley after taking her seat.

"Billy!"

A muscular teen with messy brown hair covered by a yellow backwards baseball cap stepped forward. He wore a red jacket over his white shirt, black pants and black sneakers. He smiled at the others as he took his seat on the tramcar.

"The final girl of the team, Iris!"

A short, scrawny girl with long red wavy hair and green eyes quietly stepped forward. She had on a long sleeved white cardigan over a maroon dress, and had white ballet flats. She blushed as she noticed her fellow teammates watching her as she took a seat next to Billy.

"And finally, the last member of the team, Garrett!"

A buff, tattooed dude with spiky brown hair and green eyes smiled and cracked his knuckles. He wore a red bandana, emerald vest, orange sash, red pants, and brown shoes. He took the final seat next to Iris, who shyly scooted away from him.

"From this point on, the 11 of you will be known as the Blue Bombers!"

The team's symbol of a blue bomb flashed across the screen and most of them cheered, although the sudden loud noises made Iris yelp and cower back into her seat.

"I am pumped," Riley cheered. "This team is gonna be awesome!"

"You can say that again," Billy added. "Go Blue Bombers!"

"Settle down, you guys," Chris said. "We gotta sort out the final team. Now, obviously the 11 of you make up the remaining team, but we still gotta introduce you one at a time. Let's start things off with Caleb!"

A tall guy with brown eyes and shaggy brown hair awkwardly smiled as the other 10 stared at him. He wore a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. He took the first seat on the yellow tramcar.

"Next we have Annara."

A slim girl that had short reddish hair with light orange streaks and blue eyes stepped forward. She had on an orange t-shirt with a fox's paw print on it, blue jeans, and light-rimmed glasses. She exchanged a smile with Caleb before taking a seat next to him.

"Jacque!"

A brown skinned teen with brown eyes and short black buzzcut approached the tramcar. He wore a red t-shirt and brown pants. He nodded at the two teammates already on the tramcar before taking his seat.

"Ellie!"

A tiny girl with long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes slowly made her way to her seat. She had on a blue t-shirt, black pants, and red sandals. She avoided looking at the others as she took a seat next to Jacque.

"Lance!"

A lean, muscular guy with brown hair and green eyes smirked and stepped forward. He had on a dark blue t-shirt, a dark brown jacket, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. He sat down in front of Jacque and Ellie.

"Next, we have Morella!"

A tall, skinny girl with long dark brown hair and green eyes grinned and eagerly took her place on the trolley. She wore a gray t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and red shoes. She smiled at her teammates before taking a seat next to Lance.

"Nathan!"

A short guy with black hair looked around hesitantly and started making his way to the trolley. He wore a zipped up red jacket, blue jeans, and blue shoes. He quickly took his seat and faced forward when he noticed the others eying him.

"Clara!"

A bright smile came from a girl with golden blonde hair and blue eyes. She had on a white blouse, white skirt, and high top sneakers. She gave Nathan a big grin after taking a seat next to him, who just nervously smiled in response.

"Kusa!"

A guy with spiky brown hair going down to his neck nodded at Chris and made his way to his seat. He wore a black headband, a black muscle shirt with a fist making a thumbs up on the front and Yin Yang symbol on the back, black kung-fu pants held up by a black belt, black fingerless gloves, black kung-fu shoes, and red armbands. With him in the trolley, only two teens remained with Chris.

"The final girl of the new cast, Deborah!"

The aforementioned short, petite girl with bright tan hair styled into a bun nodded and stepped forward. She had on a black t-shirt with a brown coffee cup logo, khaki capris, black sneakers and black socks. She took her seat next to Kusa, leaving only one empty seat left.

"And the final male of the cast, John!"

The final teen was a tall guy with long black hair, held back with a blue and gold headband. He had on a black t-shirt with Japanese writing on it, cargo shorts, and black sneakers. The odd thing that stood out was that he was carrying a wooden kendo sword. Chris raised an eyebrow at this and stopped him as he began walking to the trolley.

"Whoa there, dude, can't let you get on with that thing," Chris said. "Chef, mind taking care of this?"

Chef nodded and exited the driver's seat. Before John could ask what was going on, Chef took the wooden sword from him and shook him down for any other hidden weapons.

"Hey, be easy," John complained as Chef sat him down. "I don't have anything else on me."

"You can have that thing back at the end of the season," Chris said as he pointed a finger at the sword. "For now, go take a seat with your team."

John sighed and nodded, taking the last seat on the tramcar next to Deborah. While Chef returned to the driver's seat, Chris smiled and clapped his hands.

"Alright! This final team will be known from now on as the Yellow Ghosts!"

A team symbol of a yellow ghost flashed by the screen and the team cheered, this time getting everyone on the team in on the cheer.

"Yeah, ghost team is the best team," Morella yelled with glee.

"We're gonna dominate this competition," Caleb added.

"Congrats to all of you for making it on to this season of Total Drama," Chris started. "You'll be spending the next few months competing in various grueling challenges in an attempt to win one million dollars!"

Everyone cheered at this.

"Of course, there can only be one winner," Chris continued. "So you'll have to go through a lot of pain, embarrassment, and drama to get there."

Chris walked up to the driver's area of the trolley and sat in the passenger seat next to Chef.

"We're gonna take you guys on a tour around the lot. It'll end with you guys arriving at the site of your first challenge." Chris chuckled. "Take this time to get to know your teammates, because one team is going to be one player short after tonight."

Everyone gasped, making Chris grin.

"Take us around, Chef!"

Chef nodded and started up the trolley. Slowly, they began to move into the abandoned movie lot. An awkward silence fell upon each tramcar as everyone looked around at the people they'd be on a team with for weeks to come. The Yellow Ghosts were the first team to break the silence.

"So... you guys up front," Lance called out to Kusa, Deborah, and John. "What's with the getups? None of you guys look like you're here to be on a reality show."

Kusa raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Lance. "This is just what I usually wear. I take my training very seriously."

"I haven't wore anything besides this is months," Deborah said. "These are my work clothes. I didn't even sign up for this show, my coworkers signed me up. I didn't have time to find something else when they showed up to bring me on the show."

"I just really like anime and manga," John grumbled, still upset that his kendo sword had been taken.

Jacque chuckled and whispered to Ellie. "Some colorful characters on this team."

"Y-yeah," she shyly replied.

"Oh my gosh, you guys, we're going to have so much fun together," Morella exclaimed, jumping up and down in her seat. "Don't you think it'll be exciting?"

Morella was looking at Nathan, who seemed to be trying to hide in his seat.

"Oh, uh, sure, I just hope the first challenge isn't anything too crazy," Nathan replied.

"You know how Chris loves to torture teens like us," Annara said. "I'd say we should expect anything."

"Totally," Caleb said, nodding in agreement. "Hopefully we don't end up being the first team to send someone home."

"I certainly hope not," Clara added. "I'm much too excited about getting to meet all of you. Hopefully we don't have to send someone home so early."

"Yeah, can't let the other two teams think that we're weak or something," Lance agreed while relaxing in his seat. "Let's try and kick this challenge's butt."

The Blue Bombers, hearing so much talking going on in the tramcar behind them, decided to also get acquainted with each other.

"So," Trevor started. "Quite the interesting looking team we got here."

"I think you mean quite the good looking team," Ryan replied before flexing. "You guys should count yourselves lucky."

Piper cringed at this. "Great, just what this show needed. Another Justin."

"Hey, I am NOT like him, ok?" Ryan scoffed. "I'm way smarter than that narcissist."

"Yeah, he seems like a real Einstein," Rowley whispered to Riley, who chuckled.

"Well he IS right about us having the team with the best looks," Rowan said.

"And the most strength," Garrett added. "We're gonna cream those other two teams!"

"I can get behind that," Billy replied. "I think we could have something really good going here. What do you think?"

Iris noticed that Billy was looking down at her and she yelped. "I-I suppose we could end up being a good team."

"No suppose about it," Riley said. "I got a good feeling about this team."

She looked back and noticed Aden looking at the passing buildings of the movie lot in silence.

"Hey, you've been kinda quiet," Riley said. "What's your story?"

"Yeah, four eyes, why are you so quiet?" Lexi added, nudging Aden.

"I'm just not that talkative," he replied while trying to scoot away from Lexi. "Yeah, I think we got a good team going here."

"Darn straight," Trevor replied. "This is gonna be fun."

As the last team to not yet get a conversation going, the Red Mushrooms finally began to join in.

"I like your tattoos," Taylor said to Andrea, who raised an eyebrow at her. "What do they mean?"

"They're because I'm straightedge," Andrea replied in a serious tone.

"Straightedge?" Taylor asked.

"It means she don't do drugs and stuff," Zane replied before Andrea could.

"Well hey, I've never done any of that stuff," Liam said. "Does that mean I'm straightedge too?"

"It isn't just something you label yourself, it's a way of life," Andrea replied without looking back at Liam. "You live by it. Die by it."

Kyle chuckled at this. "You peasants are quite humorous."

"What do you mean by peasants, bub?" Lee Lee asked. "We're all equals here."

"Hardly," Kyle replied.

"Come on guys, let's not get in any arguments before the first challenge even starts," Alice piped in. "We should stay unified and get to know each other. How about you?" Alice looked back at Mandy. "Tell us about you."

"Let's see." Mandy thought things over. "I like to read, I'm a big horror movies fan, my dream is to slay vampires, I-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait," Liam interrupted. "Vampires? You know those aren't real, right?"

"That's what they want you to think," Mandy replied. "But they're very real! And when I win the prize money, I'll use it to help me take those blood suckers down once and for all."

Lukas groaned and rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"They put me on a team of idiots," he grumbled to himself.

"Hey, it's not the bad," Xilier replied, hearing him say this. "Give em a chance."

Lukas sighed and eyed her curiously, noticing a blue dragon tattoo on her arm. "Alright, well what's your story? You gotta lot of tattoos there."

"I'm trying to become a tattoo artist," she proudly replied. "I'm super into it. You got anything you're really into?"

"Well, there's motorcycles," Lukas replied. "I'm all about em. All vehicles, really."

Suddenly, the two of them noticed Lincoln looking back at them with a grin.

"Holy crap, the first challenge hasn't even started and I can already smell a showmance in the works," Lincoln excitedly said. "You two would be so cute as a couple!"

Lukas narrowed his eyes and got in Lincoln's face.

"Dude, did you just call me cute?"

"N-no," Lincoln said as he nervously leaned back. "I was just making a-"

"Players," Chris suddenly yelled through a megaphone. "Quit your yammering and take a look at what's on your left!"

Everyone did as Chris said and looked out to the left, where they were passing the set of the Gilded Chris Ceremony. However, the giant Gilded Chris statues were now replaced with statues of Gilded Joysticks.

"As you all know by now, this season is all about video game genres," Chris yelled. "So everything about the season has been given a new video game theme. The Gilded Chris Ceremony is now the Gilded Joystick Ceremony! I tried to get the producers to keep the Gilded Chris, but they wouldn't budge."

Chef chuckled at this.

"You'll also notice the nearby makeup trailer confessional cam," Chris said as he motioned to the right, where the aforementioned trailer was. "Now, instead of being full of costumes and makeup, it's full of video games! You can't play any of them because there's no consoles in there, but it sure looks neat in the background when you kids do your confessionals!"

*** Confessional: Riley ***

"Holy crap, LOOK at this place," she said as she rummaged around the various video games on the shelves. "They even have Dueling Frogs! Can I just win this place if I win the competition?"

*** Back at the trolley ***

"We are now passing the trailers where you'll be spending the rest of the season." Chris motioned to the left where the two trailers from season 2 sat. They now had two doors and were divided in two to give living for both genders. However, there was a third trailer next to them. This trailer was golden and five times the size as the other two. The contestants gaped at it with jaws dropped.

"What's with that trailer?" Zane asked.

"That, boys and girls, is the coveted winners trailer," Chris exclaimed. "The winning team of each challenge will get to spend the night is that luxurious place instead of the boring, run of the mill trailers that the others stay. Just another reason for you guys to go for the win each week!"

"That place has me written all over it," Ryan commented as they drove by. "We gotta get that place today."

"We can agree on that," Piper added. "We gotta win today."

"What IS our first challenge, anyway?" Lance yelled from the back tramcar.

"Patience, guys," Chris said through the megaphone. "We're coming up to it right now."

On cue, the trolley began to approach a large building that was likely originally used as a movie set. There were three doors at the front of the building, with one of the team symbols above each. Chef parked next to the building and Chris motioned for everyone to get off the trolley. Once everyone was off, Chef drove the trolley away.

"Players, welcome to your very first challenge!"

Some teens cheered while others looked the building over curiously, trying to somehow figure out what awaited them inside.

"Your first challenge is dedicated to the arcades," Chris said as everyone gathered around. "Each team will enter through their door and will compete in a different challenge themed after an arcade classic. The team that finishes their challenge first stay in the winners trailer until the next challenge. The team that comes in last will send someone packing."

"But how is this a fair challenge if each team is doing something different?" Deborah asked.

"Sush," Chris replied. "Just get your challenge done quick and you won't have to worry about anything. Now then, another thing I should mention about this season is that veterans from the past of Total Drama will be around to help make challenges work. For today's challenge, we've brought in Total Drama's resident game guy, Sam!"

Sam stepped out from the Red Mushroom door and grinned at the contestants.

"Hey guys! So you all get to compete on the video game season? Lucky."

"Alright, Sam, go get in position," Chris said. "Challenge is about to start."

Sam nodded and waved goodbye to the teens before going back inside. Chris turned to the others and grinned.

"Alright, guys, get in front of your door and prepare for your first challenge!"

The three teams did as they were told and stood in front of their doors.

"On your mark... get set... GO!"

The doors swung open and the teams ran in. The Red Mushrooms were the first to make it to their challenge, and saw various red tilted platforms that led up to the top of the building. The platforms looked like construction beams.

"Red Mushrooms, your challenge is simple," the voice of Chris said from inside over an intercom. "Just make it to the top!"

"Well that sounds easy," Lee Lee said.

"Too easy," Andrea replied. "Something's up here. What is he having Sam do?"

"It's fine, you guys," Liam said before running to the first platform. "Here, let me show ya!"

Just as Liam was about to climb up to the second platform, a hole in the wall shot open and a barrel blasted out, knocking Liam to the ground.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Sam will be firing barrels at you as you climb," Chris said over the intercom before chuckling. "So try not to get hit."

Liam groaned in pain while the others took another look up. There were about 10 platforms to climb before reaching the top.

"I am not participating in this farce," Kyle commented. "I could get hurt!"

"You wanna be the first one voted off, fancy pants?" Lukas asked.

Kyle sighed. "I suppose not."

"Then come on, guys, let's get to climbing." Zane went over to Liam to get him up. The others nodded and began climbing, avoiding barrels shot at them by Sam as they went.

Meanwhile, the Blue Bombers had also reached their challenge. 11 devices that looked like cannons lied on the ground. The room was completely black besides some lighting on the devices.

"So, uh... where's the challenge?" Billy asked.

"Blue Bombers," Chris suddenly said on the intercom, making Iris jump. "Your challenge is a fun one! Before you is enough cannons for all of you to shoot with. The objective? Destroy all the enemies!"

More lights came on and above them the teens could see many cardboard aliens in straight lines scooting back and forth on wires.

"Our challenge is Galaxy Intruders? Radical!" Riley ran over the nearest cannon and picked it up. "Now how does this thing work?"

She fiddled around with the device and ended up accidentally shooting a tennis ball in Aden's face. Trevor and Lexi laughed at this.

"Nice shot, eagle eye," Lexi said between laughs.

"Come on guys, we don't got time to horse around," Garrett yelled out as he picked up a cannon of his own. "Everyone grab a cannon and help blast these aliens to bits!"

He shot up and nailed one of the cardboard aliens, smashing it to pieces. The others followed and grabbed their own cannons and began shooting up at the aliens.

The Yellow Ghosts, meanwhile, made it to their challenge. They suddenly found themselves at the entrance of a maze. On the floor were multiple circles arranged in a line. John ended up stepping on one, causing it to light up.

"Whoa, that's cool," Caleb commented as he stepped on another circle, making it also light up.

"Yellow Ghosts," the voice of Chris said. "Your challenge should be a familiar one to someone with even the most casual knowledge of video games. You're in a maze and you have to collect all the pellets. In this case, you're just making all the circles light up. Once you've lit them all up, you just need to make it to the exit on the other side of the maze."

"Oh hey, I've played this one," Nathan said. "Don't we also have to avoid a bunch of ghosts?"

"Yeah, we couldn't really make ghosts work," Chris replied. "So you guys will be avoiding these instead!"

Four doors opened in the roof and four bears were lowered into the maze with mechanical arms. The teens gasped.

"B-Bears?" Ellie said. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

Chris began laughing. "Oh man, you guys are in for a long season. Have fun!"

Everyone looked around nervously as they heard roars come from within the maze.

"If we split up that should make things easier," Kusa said. "If a bear catches one of us, we can easily lose them by taking a bunch of twist and turns in the maze."

"That's assuming we can actually outrun them," Lance replied. "Those things are gonna be out for blood. If only Chris let John keep that stick thing. We could have knocked the bears out with it."

"Hey, bears are living creatures too, you know," Annara said. "We can't hurt them."

"They're definitely gonna try and hurt us, though," Jacque pointed out. "We need to stay alert."

"I don't know if I can do this, you guys," Nathan said. "It's too dangerous."

"Aw, come on man, it'll be fun," Morella assured him. "I'll stick with you. We'll be fine."

Nathan nervously nodded.

"Come on guys, we need to get moving," Deborah said. "Let's go!"

The Yellow Ghost players ran into the maze and began to split up. Meanwhile, the Blue Bombers were making quick progress as they shot alien after alien.

"This is almost too easy," Rowley commented as he nailed another alien. "We'll win for sure!"

Suddenly, Chef emerged from a trapdoor in the floor, dressed as an alien and wielding a spaghetti cannon. He took aim at Rowley and blasted him with pasta.

"Just had to open your mouth, didn't ya?" Garrett said as Rowley groaned in pain.

"Hit the deck," Billy yelled as he ducked under a wad of projectile spaghetti, which instead hit Piper.

"Hey, watch it," Piper complained.

"Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting," Trevor said to himself before chuckling. "This is gonna be fun."

In the Red Mushroom room, everyone was slowly making progress up the platforms, narrowly avoiding barrels as they did so. Liam nearly tripped and fell off the platform they were currently on before Alice narrowly stopped him.

"Watch you footing, dude," Alice said. "That's a long way down."

Liam looked down and gulped. "Thanks."

"We got like 3 platforms left," Mandy observed as she jumped over a barrel.

"Then we're almost done," Lincoln added with a smirk. "We got this in the bag!"

Suddenly, Kyle was struck with a barrel and knocked off their current platform. He screamed and grabbed on to the edge of the platform below them.

"Ugh, I'll go get him," Xilier said as she began to climb down to get Kyle.

Meanwhile, Caleb was jogging through the maze, trying to light up as many circle as he could, when he noticed that Clara was following closely behind him.

"Hey, uh, weren't we all supposed to split up?" Caleb asked.

"Oh, yeah we were," Clara replied. "I just, you know, got kind of spooked and decided to stick close to you. Do you mind?"

"Nah, I don't mind," he replied as he peeked around a corner. "Just keep an eye out for the bears for us while I try to light up these things. Sound good?"

Clara smiled and nodded. In another portion of the maze, Ellie was carefully maneuvering around.

"This really stinks," she whispered as she tried lighting up as many circles as she could without rushing into a bear. She peered around a corner and noticed one of the creatures sniffing around. She yelped and jumped back, knocking into Annara.

"Ellie, what are-"

"Shh!" Ellie peered back around the corner to confirm that Annara's voice hadn't been heard. "There's a bear over there!"

"Oh," Annara replied. "I can take care of that."

Ellie gasped as Annara rounded the corner and walked straight up to the bear. The beast growled and prepared to claw her when she suddenly began scratching a spot on his belly, making him roll over and pant like a dog.

"These guys are just big teddy bears if you know the right place to scratch," Annara commented. "You go ahead and keep up the challenge. I'll keep him distracted."

Dumbfounded, Ellie nodded and left Annara to the bear.

*** Confessional: Annara ***

"I know a lot about animals. It all just comes really natural to me. Bears are easy. It's not their fault that humans seem so appetizing sometimes."

*** At the challenge site ***

The Blue Bombers were struggling to get any more aliens shot with Chef terrorizing them. Only a few cardboard aliens remained, but no one could do anything without getting stuck in a lump of pasta. Aden was the newest one to get shot for trying to shoot his cannon.

"This is impossible," he complained as he picked himself out of the pasta. "We can't get anything done before Chef creams us."

"Not to mention how humiliating it is," Rowan whined as she picked spaghetti out of her hair.

"Come on guys, we can't give up when we're so close to winning," Billy said as he helped Aden out of the spaghetti. "We can do this!"

A scream whizzed by them as Iris got stuck to the wall with pasta. Chef chuckled.

"This is too much fun," Chef said before nailing Piper with his cannon.

Meanwhile, the Red Mushrooms seemed poised to become the first ones to win as they were one platform away from the end. The barrels still shot out at them like crazy, but they were all able to avoid them.

"Where even IS Sam?" Lincoln asked. "In some sort of control room?"

"I'm actually just up here," Sam's voice suddenly replied. Everyone looked up to see him standing on the final platform, waving at them with one hand and holding a device with another. He pressed a button and a barrel nailed Liam, but Zane caught him before he could fall off.

"I'll handle this," Taylor said, jumping and grabbing on to the ledge of the top platform. She pulled herself up and came face to face with Sam.

"Hey, ya made it," Sam said. "Good jo-"

"Listen here, buddy," Taylor suddenly barked out, grabbing Sam by the collar and holding him up. "Drop that thing and stop shooting barrels at us before I clobber you!"

Startled, Sam dropped his device and held his hands up. Taylor glared at him as her teammates climbed up.

"We're up," Andrea said. "Come on, we need to go!"

Taylor smiled and gently sat Sam down. "You got it guys! It was nice meeting you, Sam. I'm a big fan."

Taylor merrily skipped off to join her team, leaving Sam confused on the ground.

"What the heck was up with that?" Sam asked as he rubbed his head.

Outside the back of the building, Chris waited as the Red Mushrooms ran out.

"Hey, we're the first ones here," Lukas pointed out.

"Indeed you are," Chris replied with a grin. "Which means you guys win the first challenge!"

Everyone cheered and exchanged high fives. Meanwhile, inside, Lance was jogging through the maze.

"Attention Blue Bombers and Yellow Ghosts," Chris said over the intercom. "The Red Mushroom have won! Now it's up to you guys to decide which team sends someone home tonight. I'd hurry if I were you guys."

Lance groaned. "How much do we have left anyway?"

"Can't be much," Jacque said, suddenly turning a corner to face him. "I can't find any more unlit circles. Must be in one small area with someone else."

"Well who isn't pulling their weight?"

In another part of the maze, Morella was slowly nudging Nathan along as they lit up the last few circles.

"Come on, Nathan, you heard Chris," Morella said. "We gotta finish this thing, or else we lose."

"I know, I know," Nathan replied. "I just don't want to get mauled is all."

The duo came to the end of the line that they were currently walking. Nathan lit up the final circle in the line, causing an alarm to sound in the room.

"Yellow Ghosts, you lit up all the circles," Chris said. "Now you just have to get out of the maze!"

Nathan and Morella smiled.

"You did it, dude!"

"Hey, guess I did," Nathan replied. "Now all we need to do is get to the end and-"

Nathan froze when he turned the corner and found himself up close and personal with a bear. The creature growled at him.

"Don't panic," Morella whispered. "Let's just slowly step back and-"

Nathan ignored what she said and yelled at the top of his lungs as he sprinted away. Morella followed and the bear gave chase.

In the Blue Bomber room, only three cardboard aliens remained, but Chef wasn't going to let them destroy them easily. Everyone was trapped in spaghetti. Trevor and Riley picked themselves out of some pasta when Riley suddenly had a revelation.

"Trevor, I got an idea to win this thing," she whispered. "Mind helping me?"

"Well, I'd definitely rather do that than lose," Trevor replied.

"I want you to shoot at Chef to distract him. While he's shooting at you, I'll take care of the last aliens. Think you can handle it?"

"Oh yeah," Trevor said with a chuckle. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

Taking aim at Chef, Trevor fired his cannon, nailing his target in the head. Chef glared at Trevor, who had a wide grin.

"You done it now, maggot!"

Chef began firing rapidly while Trevor ran away from the spaghetti. While Chef was distracted, Riley took aim at the remaining aliens and quickly shot them with her own cannon.

"Blue Bombers, you've destroyed all your aliens," Chris yelled through the intercom. "Now you just need to make it outside before the Yellow Ghosts."

Riley pumped her fist victoriously, but then looked back to see her teammates all still stuck in pasta.

"You, uh, mind giving us a hand?" Ryan asked.

Meanwhile, everyone on the Yellow Ghost team besides Morella and Nathan had made it to the door to the exit and were awaiting their teammates so that they could finish the challenge.

"Where are they?" Jacque asked.

"Maybe they got lost?" Ellie suggested.

"The maze isn't THAT big," Deborah said. "They must have ran into trouble."

"We should go help them," Kusa added. "It's better than standing her and doing nothing."

"I'll go with you," Annara said. "If it's a bear giving them trouble then I can-"

Suddenly, two screams could be heard coming from the maze. Nathan and Morella eventually emerged and collapsed when they saw their teammates.

"That... was close," Nathan said.

"I told ya... not to panic," Morella replied.

"Guys, get up," Lance demanded. "We gotta get going before-"

"Blue Bombers have finished their challenge," the voice of Chris suddenly yelled. The camera switched to outside where the spaghetti covered members of the Blue Bombers had now joined the Red Mushrooms. "That means the Yellow Ghosts lose the challenge! Prepare for the first Gilded Joystick ceremony of the season."

Everyone inside groaned, then turned their gaze to Morella and Nathan, who looked around at them nervously.

*** Confessional: Morella ***

"I only went with Nathan in the maze because the poor guy wouldn't budge without any help. I really hope I don't go home first over this."

*** Confessional: Nathan ***

"Ok, in my defense? There was a BEAR! Kind of had to worry about not getting ripped to shreds."

*** Confessional: Lance ***

"Ugh, we lost the first challenge. Definitely not how I wanted to start this season."

*** Gilded Joystick Ceremony ***

11 teens sat on the bleachers as Chris walked out in his blue tuxedo. He looked at them all with a huge grin.

"It's time for the first elimination of the season! Isn't this exciting?"

Everyone glared at Chris, who chuckled at this.

"Under your seats, you will all find a voting device. All you have to do is simply click the picture of the person you want to eliminate. Simple, right?"

Everyone got their voting device from under their seats and the faces of everyone on their team rolled by on each of them. Chef then stepped out in his pink dress assistant outfit from season 2, horrifying and amusing everyone. He carried with him 10 gilded joysticks.

"It's the moment of truth, people," Chris said. "Time to decide our first loser! The gilded joysticks go to..."

Everyone looked around nervously.

"Deborah!"

Deborah sighed in relief and caught her joystick.

"Lance, Caleb, Annara!"

The aforementioned three smiled and gladly took their symbol of immunity.

"Kusa, Clara, Jacque, Ellie..."

Everyone was tossed a gilded joystick as their names were called.

"And John! All of you are safe."

John wiped away some sweat and caught his joystick. Nathan and Morella looked at each other with worried looks. Chris grinned as he held the final gilded joystick.

"The two of you caused your team to fall behind," Chris said. "But only one of you can be safe. I wonder who it will be? The final gilded joystick goes to...

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... Morella!"

Morella jumped up and cheered, gladly taking her gilded joystick. Nathan looked at the ground and pouted.

"Aw man, first one out?" Nathan asked. "This bites."

"Sorry dude, but someone had to do it," Chris said as Chef escorted Nathan away. "Looks like you were the man for the job."

Nathan walked down the red carpet, where the Lameousine should have been waiting for him. However, there was no Lameousine, and there was instead a giant slingshot.

"Uh, Chris, what's this thing?" Nathan asked.

"It's a new season," Chris replied. "So we need a new method of elimination. You're going to be the first person to ride the Sling of Shame!"

Nathan opened his mouth to ask something when Chef suddenly scooped him up and placed him in the slingshot. Chef pulled him back far before letting go and sending Nathan flying through the sky, screaming. Everyone watched with wide eyes.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Ellie asked.

"Probably," Chris replied. "The rest of you guys are safe... for now. Head on over to the trailers and crash in the one that the Blue Bombers didn't take. Long season ahead of you guys."

Everyone got up and slowly walked away. Chris turned to the camera and grinned.

"And so ends the first elimination ceremony for Total Drama Level Up! There's going to be a lot more of these to come. 30 more, to be exact." Chris laughed. "This season is sure to be a good one. Who will win next? What drama will unfold on the teams? And who will be the next person to ride the Sling of Shame? Find out the answer to all of that and more, next time on TOTAL... DRAMA... LEVEL UP!"

**Votes:**

**Nathan: Morella, Ellie, Lance, Kusa, Annara, Deborah, Caleb  
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**Morella: Nathan, Clara, John, Jacque**

**Remaining Contestants:**

**Red Mushrooms: Kyle, Andrea, Lukas, Xilier, Alice, Mandy, Lee Lee, Taylor, Lincoln, Zane, Liam**

**Blue Bombers: Piper, Trevor, Aden, Lexi, Garrett, Riley, Rowan, Ryan, Billy, Iris, Rowley**

**Yellow Ghosts: Caleb, Ellie, Lance, Kusa, Jacque, Morella, Annara, John, Clara, Deborah**

**33rd: Nathan**

_Author's Note:  
><em>

_And so ends the first chapter of Level Up! What did you guys think? Sorry to Pokerox27 for eliminating Nathan first. None of my eliminations are personal, he was just the character I decided upon to eliminate first once I thought over the elimination order in my head. I guess that goes to everyone who submitted a character. If the character is eliminated early, please don't take it personally. I'm just trying to create the best possible story that I can, and your character might not be a long term part of it. If you want to stop reading when your character is gone, you're more than welcome to, but I'd appreciate if you stuck around afterwards. I love input and the characters will still appear in the finale and bonus aftermath chapters. Also, some attires were slightly tweaked for a few characters for simplification purposes. Hopefully that doesn't bug anyone. As for anyone reading this that didn't submit a character, I hope you enjoyed the first part of the story! I'm going to try and make something great from this, so hopefully it caught your interest._

_So that's chapter one. Chapter two will be out soonish. This chapter was large with how much I needed to fit in it, but the next chapter might not be as big. Also, the sign up chapter is now a table of contents. No use in having the original chapter since the story is underway. There will also be a cast list on the table of contents so everyone can be credited for their character. Thanks for reading, guys. Please leave some feedback in the reviews._


	3. Level 2: Super Morella Bros

"Last time on Total Drama Level Up: 33 brand new competitors arrived at the abandoned movie lot from Total Drama Action to participate in a season all about video games! They were divided into three teams, the Red Mushrooms, the Blue Bombers, and the Yellow Ghosts. After getting acquainted with each other during a short tour of the movie lot, they all competed in the first challenge of the season. It was anyone's game at first, but it was the Red Mushrooms that pulled ahead and took the first win. Meanwhile, Nathan and Morella ran into some bear trouble, giving the Blue Bombers enough time to not come in last. The two of them both found themselves in the danger zone at the first ever Gilded Joystick ceremony, but it was nervous Nathan that found himself being the first unlucky winner of a ride on the Sling of Shame. 32 players remain! How will everyone settle into their teams? What relationships and rivalries will form? And who will be the next to ride the Sling of Shame? Tune in for THE most dramatic Gilded Joystick ceremony yet, right here on TOTAL... DRAMA... LEVEL UP!"

*** Opening Credits ***

The Blue Bombers and Red Mushrooms were walking to the trailers, the Yellow Ghosts absent as they were busy voting someone off. Everyone on the Red Mushrooms were happy and excited, while the Blue Bombers looked jealous and irritated.

"Looks like we got some sore losers," Zane commented after catching Lexi glaring at the team.

"You guys got lucky," Piper said. "We had to deal with Chef and the Ghosts had to deal with bears! All you guys had to deal with was Sam. It was hardly fair."

Mandy chuckled. "Sure, blame the challenge."

"Hey, she's right," Ryan cut in. "If you guys would have got stuck with our challenge, you all would probably be sending someone home right now instead of the Ghosts."

"Sure we would," Lukas sarcastically replied. "I'm with Zane on this one, you guys are just being sore losers."

Garrett narrowed his eyes at Lukas. "Don't call us losers."

Lukas laughed and stepped closer to him. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"You wanna piece of Garrett?" Garrett replied, raising his voice. "Come and get it!"

The two started to get in each other's faces, forcing Alice to get between them.

"Guys, come on, we shouldn't do this on the first night," she said.

"Yeah, we should all just be glad that we didn't have to vote someone off," Billy added, placing a comforting hand on Garrett's shoulder. "We should be celebrating!"

"He's right," Lincoln agreed, trying to ease Lukas away from Garrett. "We should all just go and get settled in."

Lukas and Garrett shot each other one last glare before silently returning to their teams and continuing to the trailers. Eventually, both teams arrived, with the Red Mushrooms wasting no time to eagerly run into the winner's trailer.

"So, which trailer are we taking?" Rowley asked, receiving unsure shrugs from his teammates.

"We can just take this one," Riley replied as she walked up to the one closer to the winner's trailer. "I mean, it doesn't really make a difference. They're pretty much the same."

The other Blue Bomber members exchanged nods and joined Riley at the trailer. Meanwhile, the Red Mushroom were standing in awe inside their own trailer. The inside was decked out in similar fashion to the spa hotel from the All Stars season. Everything appeared fancy, from the carpet to the curtains. A large staircase led up to the top floor where the bedrooms were. On the ground floor was a spa room, a living room room that came with a huge television, and a dinning room where an elderly butler stood next to the large circular table fit to seat 11 people.

"Whoa," Liam whispered as he nearly tripped walking through the door.

"This... place... is... AWESOME," Taylor cheered, running throughout the rooms and taking the whole thing in.

"We're gonna be living like kings tonight," Xilier added as she inspected an expensive looking vase in the living room.

"Ehh... it's acceptable," Kyle commented as he curiously eyed his surroundings. "It pales in comparison to my own living conditions."

"Does your place have a butler?" Alice asked as she motioned to the man standing in the dinning room.

"Multiple," Kyle replied. "My family is quite wealthy."

Many of the teens took a break from gaping at the trailer to give Kyle a confused stare. Lee Lee seemed to be particularly perplexed.

"Hold up," Lee Lee said, narrowing her eyes. "You're already rich?"

Kyle grew a smug smile and nodded in response.

"Then why the heck are you on the show?" Mandy asked.

"Uh, duh, to get richer! You can never have enough money."

The others all exchanged irritated and confused glances. Kyle ignored these and quietly made his way up the stairs to check out the upper floor. Andrea, yet to say a word since the challenge earlier, watched him with a raised eyebrow.

*** Confessional: Andrea ***

"The others on my team are... questionable. The girl that believes in vampires, the rude biker guy, the girl with the tatoos, and now that rich kid. I certainly wouldn't want any of them as role models for those watching at home. I consider it my mission to eradicate any and all freaks and bad influences from this competition. But if I'm going to make it happen, I will require help. Help from team mates that are normal."

*** In the winner's trailer ***

Zane was curiously looking over the cabinet under the TV, which was completely filled with various video games. Unlike the confessional booth, there were also consoles to go with the games, allowing the contestants to actually play the games while they stayed at the trailer.

"This place just gets better and better," Zane said to himself with a grin while trying to pick out something to play first. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see Andrea looking him over. "Uh, can I help you?"

"You... seem normal," Andrea slowly replied, not taking her eyes off of Zane as she seemed to inspect him.

"Thanks?" Zane replied in a confused tone.

"If I am to purify this game and make it better for the impressionable minds watching," Andrea continued, "I need someone to help me deal with all the freaks on the show."

Zane's perplexed look turned to one of surprised realization. "Oh. You mean you want to start an alliance with me?"

Andrea nodded and finally took her eyes off of him to look around at the other team mates running around the trailer. "Many of the people on our team have the potential to negatively influence the viewers. I won't stand for that. Looking at you, I see someone who is intelligent and normal. A positive influence."

"Ya know, you could have just straight up asked if I wanted to be in an alliance with you," Zane replied in a slightly uneasy tone. "Would have saved you the breath. But either way, I'm down. You gonna add anyone else to the alliance?"

"Perhaps," Andrea said as she looked from Lee Lee to Liam. "I'll need to further observe the others before deciding if they're normal or not."

"Yeah, you have fun with that," Zane replied before returning to the video games.

*** Confessional: Zane ***

"Something is... off about that girl. She seems like she's got a screw loose or something. Regardless, it's good to go ahead and get an alliance going now. You can never have too many numbers on your side. Andrea seems like she can at least hold her own in challenges. As long as I keep an eye on her, I'll be fine."

*** In the winner's trailer ***

Upstairs, Lukas was getting settled in to one of the bedrooms. Each bedroom was huge, with comfy looking king sized beds and fluffy pillows awaiting the players for bed time. All bedrooms had two beds except for one room, which only had a single bed. Kyle had already claimed this room, so Lukas took the first room he found with both beds empty. While he was relaxing on his bed, Lincoln poked his head in.

"You, uh, mind if I take the other bed?" Lincoln hesitantly asked after receiving an annoyed glare from Lukas. However, Lukas eventually shrugged and lazily motioned to the other bed.

"It's all yours."

Lincoln grinned and eagerly made his way over to the empty bed. After enjoying the cosiness for a bit, he sat up and cleared his throat.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot today," Lincoln said. "I was, uh, hoping there's no hard feelings about the whole 'cute' comment. I'm just all about the shipping when it comes to this show."

Lukas chuckled. "It's fine, dude. Just don't let it happen again."

"Cool, cool," Lincoln replied. "I was hoping we could put that behind us and be friends."

Upon hearing that word, Lukas raised an eyebrow and looked at Lincoln curiously. "Now I don't know about that. I don't exactly make friends easy. If you want to be in an alliance or something, then I'm down with that."

"Hey, alliance is fine too," Lincoln replied with a smirk. "We'll get to the friend part later."

"Don't push your luck, man," Lukas shot at him with a serious stare. "Alliance is it."

Lincoln nodded. "Right. Just alliance. Got ya."

*** Confessional: Lukas ***

"There's no way that dweeb will get me to ever call him a 'friend.' I just need an alliance member is all."

*** Confessional: Lincoln ***

"We're totally gonna end up being friends."

*** Outside the cabins ***

The Yellow Ghosts, minus Nathan, were finally making it to the trailers. Most were disgruntled and annoyed over having to be the first team to eliminate someone, while Morella just seemed happy to still be in the game.

"Cheer up, guys," Morella said with a smile. "We'll do better next time and win!"

The others smiled back.

"She's right," Kusa said. "This challenge didn't go our way, but the next challenge is a new day. We can bounce back from this easily."

"I'm with you guys," John added. "We'll show those other two teams what we're really made of."

As the others began joining in to voice their agreement, Lance and Jacque both took the opportunity of the others not watching to look over their team. Lance raised an eyebrow and Jacque rubbed his chin in thought. Both tried to get a read on everybody, thinking over who they could trust and who could be a threat, or even a liability to the team. The two gazes met, and both were suddenly narrowing their eyes at the other.

"Watcha looking at there, slick?" Lance asked in a whisper.

"I could ask you the same," Jacque replied in a similar hushed tone. As the two refused to take their eyes off the other, Lance grew a smirk while Jacque continued curiously watching him.

*** Confessional: Lance ***

"Looks like I wasn't the only one sizing up our teammates. Interesting. Might have to watch out for that Jacque guy."

*** In the Blue Bomber's trailer ***

Inside the girl's portion of the trailer, Lexi was peeking out the window. She grinned as she watched the Yellow Ghosts approach their trailer.

"Looks like they got rid of the jumpy bloke," Lexi commented as she left the window and returned to her bunk under Piper's.

"No surprise there," Rowan added from the only single bed where she was brushing her hair. "Can't risk having a liability like that on your team."

"Absolutely," Piper agreed while nodding. "If someone pulled that crap on our team, we'd vote them off in an instant."

On the other side of the room at Iris and Riley's bunk, Iris gulped and cowered into her bed. Above her, Riley was relaxing.

"Poor kid probably couldn't help it," Riley said after sitting up to face the others. "I mean, accidents happen."

"Yeah," Iris quietly agreed. "Sometimes people deserve a second chance."

Lexi chuckled. "What, so they can screw things up for their team a second time?"

"Whether someone can help it or not is irrelevant," Piper added, arms folded and expression serious. "If someone loses a challenge for their team, they should be eliminated."

"Especially if it's some weirdo that freaks out over the smallest things," Rowan replied.

Riley and Iris were quiet while the other three went back to talking to each other. Iris looked nervously around the room until Riley jumped down and joined her on the bottom bed.

"Not the nicest lot of girls we could have got stuck with," Riley whispered. Iris silently nodded in response. "Hey, so I was thinking... you wanna start an alliance?"

Iris went wide eyed. "An alliance? W-With me?"

"Sure," Riley replied. "I mean, you're the only other girl here that doesn't seem like a jerk. Other people are probably starting alliances now, so we may as well start early too."

Iris nervously peeked over at the others to confirm that they weren't listening to them.

"OK, I'm in," Iris replied with a nod.

Riley smiled. "Awesome! I can only imagine what alliances are forming with the boys next door."

Meanwhile, on the boy's side of the Blue Bomber trailer, everyone was scattered around doing their own thing. Aden was quietly reading a book on his bed, while Trevor sat on the bed above him and watched in amusement as Garrett did pushups on the floor and Ryan inspected himself with a handheld mirror in the bunk beds opposite of them. At the final bunk, Rowley hopped down from the top bed and stuck his arm out to Billy.

"It's a pleasure being bunk mates with ya," Rowley said with a smile. Billy smiled back and went to shake Rowley's hand. When his hand made contact, however, he was met with a sudden jolt of electricity, making him jump back and yelp. Trevor and Rowley burst out in laughter.

"Oh man, the hand buzzer." Trevor wiped away a tear. "That's classic."

"An oldie but a goodie," Rowley replied with a grin before helping Billy up with his other hand. "Never gets old."

Billy chuckled. "Alright, ya got me. That was a good one, man."

While the two shared a laugh, Garrett jumped up from his workout.

"Man, if that dreadlocked dude gets in my face again, he's in for a world of hurt."

"Uh huh, uh huh," Ryan commented in a bored tone, clearly not paying attention while he looked over his teeth in the mirror.

"I mean, nobody calls me OR my teammates a loser," Garrett continued, never losing a bit of energy. "They don't know who they're messing with!"

Aden seemed to be tuning out everything else happening in the trailer while he read. Trevor, taking notice of this, poked his head down and flashed a smile at his fellow Blue Bombers member.

"You're awfully quiet," Trevor mused, causing Aden to momentarily look up from his book.

"Well, I mean, we just got here," Aden replied in a low voice. "I don't exactly know anyone here yet."

"Yeah, but this is the best time to get things rolling," Trevor said while jumping down from his bed and joining Aden on the bottom bunk. "Getting to know people, forming alliances, learning about everyone's strengths and weaknesses. The good stuff!"

Aden raised an eyebrow and curiously looked around the room at the others as they continued with the things they were doing, unaware of the conversation going on between Aden and Trevor.

"You have a point. Still, it's late and we just got done with our first challenge. I'll have plenty of time to get to know people later."

"That's the kind of mindset of a guy who gets eliminated," Trevor replied with a chuckle. Aden narrowed his eyes at him.

"Is that some kind of threat?" Aden curiously asked.

"Huh? No. Nah, not a threat." Trevor grinned. "Actually, it's the opposite. I was thinking you and I could get to know each other and form an alliance. After all, they seem like they've already began forming pairs of their own."

Aden relaxed and took another look at the others. Billy and Rowley were having some sort of conversation, while Garrett was continuing to talk with Ryan pretending to listen.

"I don't know about that," Aden replied. "But an alliance could be beneficial for the both of us. We'd need more people, though. Probably someone from the girls."

"Naturally," Trevor said as he got up to return to his bed on top. "But for now I think we should team up. Have each other's backs."

"Sounds good to me," Aden replied. "You seem like a nice guy."

Trevor grinned once again. "You too, buddy."

*** Confessional: Trevor ***

"Poor kid. He has no idea what he just got himself into. You could almost say he made a deal with the devil. Of course, he doesn't know it yet. But he'll find out eventually. They'll ALL find out eventually."

Trevor closed out the confessional with a sinister laugh.

*** In the Yellow Ghost's Trailer ***

The boys had just entered their room of the trailer and were still getting settled in. There were three bunk beds to fit six people, but with Nathan gone one of the beds would be empty. Jacque offered to take the bunk with the empty bed, to which no one objected.

"This isn't too bad," Caleb commented as he and John claimed one of the bunks. "Way better than how some of the guys on the show made their living conditions sound."

"Those guys had to sleep in caves and crummy summer camp cabins," John replied while claiming the top bed. "Season two wasn't exactly well known for the poor living conditions that the other seasons had. This place is actually pretty cozy."

"Yeah, but that winner's trailer would have been way better," Jacque pointed out. "Those Mushroom guys are probably living the good life over there."

"Not for long they aren't," Lance replied while he and Kusa took the remaining pair of beds, with Kusa taking the top one. "That place has our name written all over it. We'll cream them and the Bombers next challenge and snag that place for ourselves."

"Plus that would mean we don't have to vote someone off, which is always a good thing," Kusa added.

As the guys got settled into their new living conditions, John peeked out the window and looked at the other cabins.

"What do you think they've been up to in the time we've been gone?" John asked. Kusa and Caleb shrugged.

"I guarantee that at least 4 or 5 alliances have formed amongst the two teams," Lance replied with a serious look on his face. "The girls might even be forming one right now, too."

"You really think so?" Caleb asked, shocked. "I mean, we've hardly had any time to get adjusted."

"This early in the game is an ideal time to start alliances," Jacque replied with a nod. "I'm sure at least one of them is trying to start one."

Over in the girl's side of the trailer, Morella was confirming exactly as Lance and Jacque had said, as she bounced up and down in the middle of the room. She and Clara now shared a bunk bed, while Annara and Ellie shared the other. Deborah took the single bed.

"I'm telling you guys, we should totes form a girl's alliance," Morella excitedly yelled while clapping. "It would be the best!"

The other girls looked around at each other, all with unsure expressions.

"Don't you think it's a little early for that?" Deborah asked.

"Plus, five people is pretty big for an alliance this early," Annara added. "Things could go wrong."

"And I certainly don't want to go behind the boys backs like that," Clara said with a smile.

"Oooh, I know why that is!" Morella giggled and skipped over to Clara's bunk, somehow immediately dropping and moving on from her alliance idea. "I saw the looks you were giving that Caleb guy!"

The other girls quickly became curious and all turned their attention to Clara, who was now a bright red.

"He just seems like a nice guy is all," she shyly replied.

Morella had a huge smile as she squealed in excitement. "We have our first showmance on our hands, girls!" Suddenly, Morella turned her attention to Ellie and smiled even wider. "And I think I can predict what showmance number two will be."

Realizing that Morella was looking at her, Ellie's eyes went wide and she looked around nervously. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Don't think I didn't see the looks you were giving Jacque on the trolley earlier," Morella replied. "You're totally crushing on him!"

It was now time for the girls to once again all turn their attention, this time to Ellie. She began stammering before composing herself.

"I hardly even know him," Ellie finally said. "I'm just really shy is all. There's no crushes going on anywhere, I promise!"

Morella raised and eyebrow and leaned in close, as if trying to figure out if Ellie was lying by watching her expression. After getting nose to nose with Ellie, she finally stood back and smiled again.

"If you say so," Morella said, before smiling at Clara. "But she's totally crushing. You and Caleb will be so cute together! I wonder what the fans will call it? Calra? Clareb? Both of your names start with C, so it's kind of confusing."

Deborah and Annara exchanged a look of confusion while Morella continued to ramble.

*** Confessional: Deborah ***

"Morella seems super nice, but she's also SUPER hyper. Like, I don't think that girl has calmed down even a little since the Gilded Joystick ceremony. I would be happy to avoid elimination too, but she just goes on and on and on!"

*** Outside the trailers ***

It was early in the morning after the first day of the new season. Everyone was comfortably asleep in their beds in the Blue Bombers and Yellow Ghosts trailers. Most of the Red Mushrooms were in their beds. Kyle was in his own room, while the other rooms were shared. Lukas and Lincoln, Xilier and Lee Lee, Andrea and Taylor, and finally Alice and Mandy. Zane and Liam shared the final room, but they had instead fallen asleep in the large living room after staying up to play video games. Chris stood outside the trailers with a grin on his face and an air horn in his hand. Chef stood next to him and chuckled before exchanging a nod with the host. Chris held the horn up and blasted it, forcing all the players to immediately wake up.

"Good morning, players!" Chris laughed as the various teens reluctantly began filing out of their trailers. "Who's ready for the next challenge?"

"Already?" Lee Lee asked. "The first one was yesterday!"

"And the second one is today," Chris retorted with a smug grin. "Of course, you guys get breakfast before things begin. The challenge won't be for another couple of hours."

"Then why did you wake us up early?" Piper asked, with various other teens nodding in agreement.

"Because I can." Chris and Chef laughed as they walked off, leaving the campers to glare at him.

*** Confessional: Jacque ***

"I'm starting to see why the old contestants didn't like Chris very much."

*** Outside the challenge site ***

With breakfast ate and hours passed, the players all joined Chris outside one of the large buildings on the movie lot for their challenge. Chef was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, everyone have a good breakfast?" Chris asked, receiving bored nods from a few contestants. "Good! Because for two of you, it'll be your first and last breakfast here on the show!"

"Two?" various different teens asked simultaneously. Everyone looked puzzled and shocked.

"That's right, two," Chris replied. "You see, with such a large cast and only 26 episodes to a season, decisions had to be made to make this season work. One decision was that double eliminations would have to be a factor. So, until the merge, every other challenge will end in a double elimination!"

Everyone gasped. Nervous glances were exchanged as the realization of elimination being twice as likely every other challenge dawned upon the players.

"Of course, this is just yet another reason to try and be the winning team of the day," Chris continued. "The winning team not only wins the winners trailer, but also becomes the only team of the day to not vote someone off! The other two teams won't be so lucky."

"So two teams are voting someone off tonight?" John asked, receiving a nod from Chris.

"Just another reason to win. Now, on to the challenge itself." Chris motioned to the building behind him, signifying that it would indeed house the challenge of the day. "Our video game genre of the day is a classic. Arguably the most important genre there is! It's just as popular today as it was when it started, so it has truly stood the test of time. I speak, of course, about platformers!"

Chris led the competitors into the building as he said this, revealing a huge room filled with various floating platforms suspended by rope. The platforms were various different colors, and platforms of the same color seemed to form a path to a door in the walls. There was 10 different platform paths spread across the entire room, some varying in length and difficulty due to different spacings between platforms.

"The objective is a video game staple," Chris said. "Rescue the princess!"

On cue, Chris was suddenly joined by Lindsay, who appeared from behind the teens wearing a pink dress and a tiara instead of her usual outfit. She smiled and waved at the others, while some of the guys gaped at her looks.

"You all know Lindsay," Chris said. "A fan favorite veteran of Total Drama!"

"I'm a fan's favorite?" Lindsay asked. "Which fan?"

Chris facepalmed and snapped his fingers. Chef then appeared, dressed as a menacing turtle monster with a spiked shell and red hair. He grabbed Lindsay and walked off with her.

"The objective is to save the princess, Lindsay, from the evil monster, Chef. Simple enough?"

The players nodded.

"Good," Chris replied with a grin. "Now, on to how you'll do that. This is a platforming challenge, so you're going to have to pick as a team which of these platform paths you want to traverse. At the end of each is a door, which will lead you to a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel will either be Chef guarding Lindsay, or an intern telling you to go back. Obviously, only one path leads to Chef. Of course, once you finally find Chef, you still need to make it past him to rescue Lindsay, so just making it to Chef doesn't mean you win."

Everyone took another look around the room, trying to somehow figure out which path was the correct one. Some were shorter than others, so they couldn't be it. Unless that's what Chris wanted them to think?

"This is gonna be a fun challenge," Chris mused before letting out a chuckle. "Begin!"

Rather than take off, everybody stood still, looking around at the various paths.

"We should start with the shorter paths since they'll be the easier ones," Liam suggested, making Mandy raise an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to get the longer paths out of the way now?" she asked.

"Actually, he has a point," Alice piped in. "If Chef is in one of the shorter paths, then we win this quick. If he isn't, then we haven't wasted much time checking them. Short paths are the way to go."

The other Red Mushroom members nodded their heads in agreement.

"Guess we have a plan," Andrea said before pointing at the shortest path, a green one low to the ground. "Lets move."

The Mushrooms ran off, leaving the other two teams still puzzled at the start.

"Well if they're taking the short paths, we should take the long paths," Piper suggested, earning some confused looks from her teammates.

"That sounds tiring," Ryan replied. "Why not do what they're doing and try the short paths first?"

"Because Chef being in a short path would be too easy," Piper said. "Chris loves to torture us. We need to put in the effort and tackle the big paths now before we run out of energy in case one of them is the correct path."

A brief moment of silence followed. Eventually, Rowan shrugged. "Meh. Beats standing around here."

"Big paths it is," Billy yelled in a cheery tone before jogging off to the largest path, a long blue one that nearly led into the roof. The others followed closely behind. This left only the Yellow Ghosts at the start."

"So what should we do?" Annara asked. "Big paths or small paths?"

The teens looked around. The Red Mushrooms were all easily jumping from platform to platform, almost at their first door. The Blue Bombers were struggling to make it to just the second platform as the gap was significantly bigger than the ones on the shorter paths.

"How about the medium paths?" Kusa suggested, gesturing at an orange path that was decently longer than the green path, but also decently shorter than the blue one. The gaps were even in the middle, larger than the green platforms gaps, but shorter than the red gaps as well.

"Good enough for me," Lance replied, with others nodding in agreement. "No time to waste!"

The Ghosts ran off to the orange path, effectively beginning the challenge for everyone.

Meanwhile, the Red Mushroom were running down their first tunnel. Eventually they reached the end, where an intern with a ponytail and braces waited for them.

"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel," she nervously said, awkwardly looking at the camera.

Xilier sighed. "Yeah, I guess that would have been too easy."

"Come on guys, we gotta keep moving." Taylor was already bolting for the door, eager to continue the challenge. "We'll take the next shortest path next!"

The others looked at each other and shrugged. They all ran to catch up to Taylor. As they exited the door and slammed it behind them, the noise startled Iris bad enough to nearly make her fall from her platform, only for Riley to stop her stumble.

"Looks like the shortest path was a bust," Aden commented before jumping up to the next platform. Piper had a proud smirk on her face.

"We still got a long ways to climb," Trevor yelled while helping Rowan across a large gap to the next platform. "We gotta go, people!"

While the Bombers continued their slow climb up the largest path, the Ghosts were making relatively quick work of the orange path. They had just passed the halfway point when the Mushrooms began their run up their next short path, this one full of white platforms.

"We can do this, guys," Caleb cheered as they all jumped from platform to platform one at a time, with Morella happily leading the pack and Ellie at the rear. "I gotta good feeling about this challenge!"

*** Confessional: Clara ***

"Trying to keep morale high while we're in the middle of a challenge? O… M… G! He is the best!"

*** At the challenge site ***

"Looks like we're almost there," John commented as they approached the door above them. "How at the others doing?"

Deborah looked back to see the Ghosts closing the door behind them as the finished traversing the white path.

"Yellow Ghosts just entered their second tunnel," she replied.

"Wow," an impressed Ellie said. "They're making short work of their paths."

"Which means we'll just have to be faster!" Morella let out an excited squee and clapped before quickly jumping platform to platform and reaching the door. "Lets go, guys!"

The others nodded and quickly jumped up the remaining platforms. Soon enough, they were all inside the tunnel. As they closed the door, the Bombers finally reached the halfway point of their path.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Ghosts all ran down their second tunnel, but were once again greeted by an intern at the end.

"Sorry," the scrawny glasses wearing guy said. "You princess is in another tunnel."

"I'm starting to think that short paths weren't a great idea," Lukas commented as he glared at the intern.

"Of course they weren't, you buffoon," Kyle added with his arms folded and eyes narrowed at Liam. "This peasant should have never been trusted!"

"I don't see you coming up with any better ideas, hot shot," Lee Lee barked out while starring daggers at Kyle. The two began arguing and Lincoln had to get between the two to prevent physical contact.

"Our team is falling apart," Taylor yelled in an over the top voice before cartoonishly crying on the floor in the fetal position.

"We can't panic now, guys," Mandy said as Kyle and Lee Lee continued bickering. "The vampires will never be defeated that way!"

Zane watched the spectacle of his teammates arguing, crying, and yelling in confusion. Andrea stood beside him and nodded her head in dissapointment.

"See what I mean?" Andrea said. "Bad influences."

"They're definitely crazy, I'll give you that much," Zane replied.

Eventually Alice was able to calmly talk Taylor back into a happy mood, while Lukas and Xilier held back Kyle and Lee Lee respactively.

"Guys, we gotta keep moving and focus on the challenge," Lincoln commented as things finally began to calm down. "We can argue and insult each other when we're chilling in the winner's trailer for the second time in a row!"

Everyone looked around in silence. Even Kyle and Lee Lee exchanged a look that signified that they'd put the argument behind them for the challenge.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry about that," Lee Lee sincierly replied.

Kyle didn't have a reply but he nodded, prompting the others to finally run out and leave the tunnel. As they exited, they saw the Yellow Ghosts making good progress up a brown path that was slightly larger than their earlier one.

"What took them so long?" Jacque asked as he watched them run down their path so that they could start the next smallest path, a black one.

"Don't know, don't care," Lance replied as they passed the halfway point of their path. "But we got a challenge to win."

As the players continued jumping from platform to platform, the Blue Bombers finally made it to the top of their path.

"That… sucked," Rowley said between exhausted breaths.

"No time to slow down," Piper said as she swung open the door. "Chef could be waiting for us at the end."

The others reluctantly followed Piper into the tunnel, which eventually led them to an overweight intern wearing a hat. He certainly wasn't Chef or Lindsay.

"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel."

"After all that we get nothing?" Ryan yelled, stomping his foot. "That's stupid!"

"I-If it makes you feel any better, Chris put slides up here for the larger paths so you don't have to waste too much time jumping back down the platforms," the intern cowardly replied as he pointed at a nearby slide that led to the bottom of the building.

"Well hey, it beats jumping down," Billy replied in an upbeat tone, trying to keep the mood on the team good. "We taking the next biggest path once we get down there?"

"Yep," Piper said sternly. "Chef's in one of the bigger paths. It would make the most sense."

"Then lets go, people, we're burning daylight!" Riley ran up to the slide and quickly slid down. Billy and Iris followed closely behind, eventually followed by the others. Once they reached the bottom, they got to climb the red path, the second biggest batch of platforms.

*** Confessional: Piper ***

"The team was already getting tired, but I was confident in my methods. Chef had to be in one of the big paths. He had to be."

*** At the challenge site ***

After a bit of time, with the path being decently longer than their previous two, the Mushrooms made it to their third tunnel. They ran down the path as fast as they could… only to find yet another intern, this one a tall girl with short hair.

"Sorry, but your-"

"Princess is in another tunnel, yeah yeah, we get it," Zane said in an annoyed tone.

"Crap, we're running out of paths to take," Xilier added. "How many is there left?"

"Well the Bombers and Ghosts each completed one, with the Ghosts about to complete their second," Alice thought out loud. "So assuming that one is a dud, that's six paths taken, with the Bombers on their way to a seventh."

"Three paths left," Liam added. "We, uh, still taking the smallest one?"

"May as well," Andrea replied. "We should try and get there before the Ghosts do."

As the Red Mushrooms exited the door, they saw the Yellow Ghosts do the same at the top of the brown path. Glares were exchanged between the two teams as they ran down their platforms simultaneously. The shorter black path gave the Mushroom the advantage, however, Liam tripped near the bottom and had to be helped up before they ran to the yellow platforms.

*** Confessional: Liam ***

"Yeah, my clumsiness can get the better of me sometimes. I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem."

*** At the challenge site ***

While the members of the Mushrooms team jogged up their path, the Ghosts made it to the bottom. Many of them were out of breath and they took a quick break to compose themselves. They looked at the final two paths, a pink one and a purple one. The purple path was slightly bigger with wider gaps between the platforms. They then looked up and saw the Blue Bombers very slowly making it up the red path due to nearly everyone on the team being exhausted.

"Well… which one?" Deborah asked while catching her breath.

"The pink path is a little quicker," Kusa pointed out. "Maybe that one?"

"Yeah, but if it turns out to be another intern, then the Bombers or Mushrooms definitely win," John added.

"Nothing is definite," Annara replied. "Besides, there's no way to tell which path is correct. It's a risk we have to take."

At that, the others nodded and took off on the pink path, carefully jumping from one platform to another. Up on the red path, Iris nervously looked back at the other two teams.

"They're both about to go through another path," she observed. "Only the purple one remains."

"Surely the last path to be picked won't be the correct one," Rowley replied as he jumped to his next platform and stopped to catch his breath. "That would be too convenient."

"Don't jinx it, you idiot," Rowan hissed as she jumped up another platform. "I am SO tired of these platforms."

"No time to rest, guys, we're almost there," Piper pointed out as she looked up at the door. The team, however, looked beat.

"The gaps are way too big on these stupid things," Lexi complained as she jumped up to the platform Piper was on. "Chris is a bloody git for making us do this challenge."

"Yeah, the likelihood of someone getting injured is way too high," Aden added. "Doesn't he care about our safety?"

*** Confessional: Chris ***

"Oh, yes! The safety of the competitors on my show are _always_ a top priority."

Chris burst out in laughter, laughing so hard that he was nearly in tears before the confessional ended.

*** At the challenge site ***

As the three teams chugged through their respective paths, the Red Mushrooms were the first team to finally reach a door. The team quickly raced down the path and were greeted by none other than an intern. The tall, shaggy haired dude was about to open his mouth when Lukas shushed him before he could speak.

"Don't even say the line, dude," Lukas said, making the intern nervously nod in response.

"One path left to take," Taylor happily said with a grin. "That's gotta be the right one!"

"If it isn't, then the Bombers or Ghosts basically win," Mandy replied. "But it's worth a shot!"

The teammates wasted no time in leaving the tunnel and running back down their path, jumping from platform to platform as quick as they could. The Blue Bombers and Yellow Ghosts all took note of this, acknowledging that one of their paths had to be the winner. The Mushrooms started up the purple path as fast as they could, jumping from platform to platform. Because this was their first path with large gaps between platforms, they weren't nearly as tired and the other teams. They were already well past the halfway point when the Ghosts made it to the top of the pink platform. When their tunnel came to an end, they were greeted by a tall intern with hair covering his eyes.

"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel."

"Oh no," Ellie said as she worriedly looked at the others. "Does that mean we lose again?"

"Not necessarily," Caleb replied with a smile. "Remember, Chris said that Chef needs to be beaten before a team can win. Whoever gets to Chef might have trouble with him. We still have a chance!"

"Caleb is right," Clara agreed as she inched closer to Caleb. "We can't give up yet!"

"You guys can, uh, take the slide down if you want," the intern lazily pipped in while pointing at a nearby slide. The others looked at it and shrugged, quickly taking it down to the ground floor.

"The Bombers are almost to the top," John commented as he watched Piper reach the top of the red path, waiting for the rest of her team.

"I say we wait at the bottom of the purple path and wait to see if they come down," Jacque suggested. "If they do, we can get a good head start on them and try to catch up to the Mushrooms. If they don't come out, we can go up their path while the Mushrooms finish with this one."

"Sounds good," Annara replied. "Are we all agreed?"

Nods were exchanged and the Yellow Ghosts patiently stood at the bottom of the purple path as they watched the Blue Bombers finally enter their second door. A couple of minutes passed before they saw the team slide down to the floor, some of them yelling in anger.

"Red was a bust," Lance yelled before immediately turning and jumping up the platforms. The rest of this team was close behind. While they started up the path, the Mushrooms had made it to the top. Everyone but Alice had entered and she saw the approaching team before she closed the door.

"Guys, this is the right path," she yelled up to her teammates. "But the Ghosts are on our tail and the Bombers will be along eventually. We need to finish this-"

She cut herself off as she and the others came to a stop at a point in the tunnel. The plain black tunnel turned into a narrow bridge suspended above a small pit. The walls of the pit were painted to look like fire for visual effect. At the other end of the bridge stood a grinning Chef, with Lindsay close behind him.

"Hey guys," Lindsay cheerfully yelled. "You all did totally awesome!"

"Oh, they ain't done yet," Chef said with a chuckle. He grabbed a nearby burlap sack and poured the contents on to the bridge. What came out were dozens of angry looking snapping turtles. "I want y'all maggots to meet my minions!"

"Minions?" Liam asked. As if in response, Chef then pulled out a hockey stick and whacked one of the turtles, sending the creature flying straight into Liam. It bit down on the poor teen's arm, causing him to run around and scream.

"Make it past me to win," Chef reminded the others before laughing and hitting more snapping turtles at them. Everyone bobbed and weaved out of the way, running in terror as they tried to avoid the pain. Liam required help from Xilier to remove the turtle from his arm.

"How is this supposed to work?" Lincoln asked as he ducked out of the way from an incoming turtle. "We can't get close to him without getting a turtle to the face!"

"We take him down like how we'd take down a blood sucking freak!" Mandy pulled off one of her shoes and stood in place with determination. "Bring it on, Chef! You're nothing compared to Dracula!"

Chef raised an eyebrow but shrugged and hit a turtle Mandy's way. She smirked and when the turtle got to her, she smacked it back with her shoe, sending it hurtling at Chef. He wasn't able to react in time and the turtle bit down on his nose, making Chef run around in pain and fall straight into the pit. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by cheers.

"No time to celebrate," Andrea said as she ran across the bridge. "We need to win first."

The others stopped cheering and quickly made their way across the bridge, hopping over any stray turtles that remained on the course. Everything seemed to be in the bag for the Mushrooms when everyone but Liam had crossed the bridge. However, just as Liam was about to reach the end with his team, an untied shoelace caused him to trip and fall into the pit with Chef, who was still trying to get the turtle off of his face.

"Oh crap," Zane commented as Taylor rushed to the edge of the pit and reached her hand down.

"Liam, take my hand," Taylor dramatically yelled as Liam sat up and rubbed his head.

"Ugh, what happened?" Liam asked as he seemed to not know where he was.

As the other members of the Red Mushrooms yelled for Liam to get up, a loud commotion suddenly came from down the tunnel. Everyone looked up in shock as the members of the Yellow Ghosts ran down the bridge at top speeds and all managed to make it to the end.

"And the Yellow Ghosts win," Chris yelled, revealing himself as he came from behind a hidden door. Lindsay giggled and clapped in amusement.

"That was soooo much fun," Lindsay merrily said. "Can I be a princess for another episode?"

"Hold on, we were the first team to make it to Lindsay," Andrea pointed out. "We even beat Chef."

"True, but you needed the whole team to make it to Lindsay," Chris replied with a grin. "The Ghosts did that first."

As Chris said this, Liam was finally being helped up by Taylor. He said nothing as he nervously looked around at his disappointed teammates.

"So yeah, Yellow Ghosts win," Chris continued. "Red Mushrooms, you and the Blue Bombers are voting someone off tonight. See you then!"

Chris and Lindsay walked off, leaving the Yellow Ghosts to celebrate and the Red Mushrooms to sulk. As they did this, another commotion came from elsewhere in the tunnel and the Blue Bombers finally made it to the end of the bridge. They came to a stop and looked at the other teams, crestfallen.

"I think we were too late," Garrett said.

Piper sighed. "Oh, shut up."

*** Inside the winner's trailer ***

With the team about to lose the trailer to the Yellow Ghosts, the Mushrooms were enjoying their last moments for the time being in their trailer. Unfortunately, with Kyle making the butler bring him various foods and Liam taking a nap in his room, the last moments were spent on a debate in the living room on who to vote off.

"I'm telling you, we need to vote off Kyle," Lee Lee said, keeping her voice low enough for him to not hear in the other room. "He's rude, he isn't exactly the most useful in challenges, and worst of all, he's already rich!"

"Sure, he's a piece of crap to come on this show when we could all use the money way more than him," Lukas replied, leaning back on the couch with his arms folded. "But he ain't the one who lost us the challenge today."

"Liam's plan to use the shorter paths first ended up being beneficial to us," Alice pointed out. "Plus, he's such a nice kid. We should give him another chance."

"Another chance could mean another challenge lost because of his carelessness," Andrea replied. "We vote off Liam. Kyle will be dealt with when he is the one who loses us a challenge."

Zane nodded his head in agreement. "I gotta go with them. I mean, yeah, the guy is nice and all, we played a bunch of video games last night and he was pretty cool during it, but this is a competition. We gotta think about what's best for the team as a whole."

"He's got a point," Mandy said, shrugging as Lee Lee gave her a frustrated stare. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, but Kyle's attitude isn't doing the team any favors either," Xilier replied.

"Also a good point," Mandy admitted with a sigh.

"Whatever happens, happens," Taylor said with a bright smile. "As long as we aren't voting someone off again next challenge, I'll be happy!"

Lincoln grinned. "I think that's something we can all agree on."

Nods and smiles were exchanged before the teens got up and left for the elimination ceremony.

*** Gilded Joystick Ceremony ***

Chris and Chef smiled as 22 teens all stood next to the seats, prepared to vote off one of their own teammates.

"Well well well, looks like each team will be down to 10 after tonight," Chris commented as he eyed the nervous teens. "I think the Red Mushrooms will have the more interesting voting, so how about we do the Blue Bombers first! Come on up, kids."

The 11 Blue Bombers took their seat on the stands. They reached under their seats and pulled out the voting devices that displayed all of their faces.

"We're running low on time here, so get to voting!"

As Chris asked, everyone cast their votes. Chef then stood next to Chris with the first platter of Gilded Joysticks.

"Gilded Joysticks go to Lexi, Aden, Billy, Ryan, Trevor, Rowan, Riley, Garrett, and Rowley!"

Everyone called gladly grabbed their joysticks, leaving only Piper and Iris without one. Iris was shaking nervously like a leaf while Piper seemed confident.

"Interesting bottom two," Chris said with a chuckle. "Final Joystick goes to… Iris!"

Piper and Iris both gasped as Chris tossed the final symbol of immunity to Iris.

"Why the heck did you guys vote me off?" Piper demanded, equally furious and shocked.

"Your plan screwed us in the challenge," Garrett said bluntly.

"Plus, didn't you say someone should be eliminated no matter what if they lose the challenge for their team?" Riley asked.

"Not when it's me!" Piper stomped the ground. "I can't believe this!"

Chef dragged Piper off and quickly placed her into the Sling of Shame. He pulled back and sent her flying through the sky. The teens were shocked at the spectacle, but Chris wanted to move things along.

"Yeah, yeah, she'll be fine, don't worry. The dude from yesterday that took the Sling of Shame only had a few cuts and bruises. Bring up the Red Mushrooms!"

Slowly, the Blue Bombers left the seats and were replaced by the Red Mushrooms. They took their voting devices, which now displayed the faces of their team.

"This should be interesting," Chris mused. "Vote!"

Once voting was done, Chef returned to the stage with more Gilded Joysticks. Chris grinned as he looked over the team.

"Votes were close on this one," he said as he held the first joystick. "I think you all know who the bottom two is, so I won't waste your time. Xilier, Lincoln, Alice, Zane, Mandy, Taylor, Lukas, Lee Lee, and Andrea! All of you are safe."

All eyes were on Liam and Kyle. Kyle seemed bored and annoyed, while Liam was nervously looking between Kyle and the Gilded Joystick.

"Liam, your clumsy mistake cost your team the challenge," Chris said as he held the final joystick. "Kyle, nobody on your team seems to like you. That's never a good thing when trying to avoid elimination."

Kyle eyed his teammates curiously and simply shrugged.

"Well, only one of you can stay in the game. The final Gilded Joystick goes to...

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… Kyle!"

Kyle smugly smirked and grabbed his joystick.

Liam hung his head in shame. "Sorry, guys. Didn't mean to screw up the challenge."

"It's alright, little guy," Chris said from the stage. "If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to take the Sling of Shame."

"Really?" Liam asked, his expression growing slightly relieved.

"Nope! Take him away, Chef!"

Chef chuckled and grabbed Liam. He was placed in the giant slingshot and was quickly pulled back and flung through the sky, his yells echoing as he flew.

"And so 33 because 30," Chris said as he grinned at the 20 teens before him. "The rest of you are safe… for now. Return to your trailers. Red Mushrooms, you get to sleep in the trailer that the Yellow Ghosts had last night. Won't that be fun?"

Glares from the Red Mushrooms were pointed at Chris as the players walked off. Chris chuckled and faced the camera.

"And so concludes are first ever double elimination! We're gonna have a few more of those and they're sure to be entertaining every time! Will more alliances form throughout the teams? Can the Yellow Ghosts get a win streak going? And who will be the next to ride the Sling of Shame? Tune in for all of that and more, next time on TOTAL… DRAMA… LEVEL UP!"

**Votes:**

**Iris: Piper**

**Piper: Iris, Lexi, Rowan, Riley, Trevor, Aden, Garrett, Ryan, Rowley, Billy**

**Kyle: Liam, Lee Lee, Alice, Taylor, Xilier**

**Liam: Kyle, Lukas, Lincoln, Andrea, Zane, Mandy**

**Remaining Contestants:**

**Red Mushrooms: (Lukas, Lincoln), (Andrea, Zane), Mandy, Lee Lee, Kyle, Xilier, Taylor, Alice**

**Blue Bombers: (Riley, Iris), (Trevor, Aden), Garrett, Rowley, Rowan, Lexi, Ryan, Billy**

**Yellow Ghosts: John, Deborah, Clara, Morella, Lance, Caleb, Ellie, Jacque, Annara, Kusa**

**31st: Liam**

**32nd: Piper**

**33rd: Nathan**

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry for taking so long on this. I've been flooded with school, work, and holiday stuff all keeping me busy. At least the chapter was a big one! Consider it my Christmas present to you. Although, in that case, it would probably be considered a crappy present for the people who submitted Liam and Piper. Sorry, guys. They'll return for the aftermaths. And the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to get out. Heck, I might even squeeze it out before the new year. No promises, though._

_Two things to note about the bold section above these author's notes. First, per request, I've added a section to show how the votes go in each elimination. I even edited the previous chapter to show who voted Nathan and who voted Morella. Second, I've borrowed something from aspiringAnimator's story "The Fifty State Roundup," which you should totally go read if you have the time. Established alliances will be marked with parenthesis. This is to help readers keep up with the various story lines since we have so many characters to keep up with._

_One last thing. At first I wanted to reference more franchises this episode with the genre being platformers, but there's so many great iconic platformers out there that all the references could have become a huge mess. Instead, I just went with the basic. Super Mario Bros and that's it. I'll try to reference more games in some future genres, whether it be the title or in the chapter itself. Video game references are obviously going to be a reoccurring thing in this story. Readers probably already figured that out when the team names became references to Mario, Mega Man, and Pac-Man, and the last challenge had references to Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and… Pac-Man. Again. So that's all for this chapter, folks. Let me know what you thought in the reviews. Too many words? Some characters not getting enough screen time? Some getting too much screen time? Tell me all._


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